Sewer cleaning device



1933- J. SILBERGER ,898,503

SEWER CLEANING DEVICE Filed April 15. 1931 (/01 ms 5/1 BfRGfR Patented Feb, 21, 1933 I 1,898,503 I 1 uuirao "(STATES PATENT, OFFICE SEWER CLEANING DEVICE Application filed April 15, 1931. Serial No. 530,358.

The present invention relates to cleaning apparatus and more particularly to apparatus adapted for use in" cleaning sewer pipes, drains, or the like, through which waste material flows. While the principles of the invention are applicable to a device for cleaning the interior of any pipe which conveys waste'material, the same is particularly applicable to the cleaningof'household drains tends a flexible shaft carrying at one end a combined rotary sludge cutting and sweepingdevice and connected at the other end to a motor-through a suitable speed reducing device. The flexible casing, together with its internal flexible shaft, is adapted to be inserted in one end of a sewer pipe and forced into the sewer pipe manually while in operation, sothat the. sludge and other foreign matter in the sewer may be loosened by the cutting instrumentality and carried forward ly by the sweeping instrumentality. Means is also provided for-preventing ingress of liquid into the flexible casing itself or to the flexible shaft contained therein.

The invention is extremely simple in its nature and consequently may be manufactured at an extremely low cost. Convenience of arrangement of parts, ruggedness and durability, ease of'assembling for cleaning purposes, and comparative simplicity of operation. are further desirable features that have been borne in mind in the production and development of the present invention. In the. accompanying single sheet of drawings forming a part of this specification is shown. the preferred form of the invention, in which drawing 1 'Fig. 1 is a detailed view partly in section showing the sludge cutting and sweeping devicesecuredto one endof the flexible shaft and showing its operative connection with a casing intoa sewer pipe;

-Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the flexible shaft which is employed in connection with the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line H of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the sludge cutting inst'rumentality employed in the present invention;

-Fig. 6 is a detailed sectional View taken longitudinally through a household sewer drain, showing. the cleaning apparatus in actual operation within the sewer drain and also showing the driving mechanism for effecting operation of the apparatus.

In all of the above described views like 66 characters of reference are employed to designate like parts throughout and the device involves in its general organization aflexible casing 10 in the form of an elongated tubular member formed in any suitable manner and 7c of any suitable waterproof material. -Gontained within this casing 10 is a flexible shaft 11 comprised of a plurality of sections 12 having slots 13 formed in one end thereo and cars 14 projecting from the other end 7 thereof. The sections 12 of the flexible shaft 11 are mated at their ends, so that the cars 14 of each section enter the slots 13 of each adjacent section. The sections are hinged together by means of through-bolts 16 in the 30 form of rivets which extend through the ends of the sections and through the ears of the adjacent sections, there being left a clearance 15 between the sections for pivotal movement of one section upon its adjacent section in one plane. The sections are arranged in pairs in such a manner that when the sections of one pair are adapted to swing upon each other in a horizontal plane, the sections of adjacent pairs are adapted to swing upon each other in a vertical plane, or in other words the sections of adjacent pairs are adapted to swing upon each other in a plane at right angles to the plane of movement of adjacent pairs of sections. Thus, the shaft is universallyfiexible throughout its length.

A strip of flexible resilient material 17 extends longitudinally of the flexible casing 10 and is secured thereto at spaced points therealong by straps 19 which encircle the flexible 2' H naaaooa I strengthen the casing as it is introduced into a pipe, and prevents rotation of the casing during operation of the device. The sections 12 are substantially identical in form; but :a

forward section 20 is provided with the usual 1 slot 13 for the reception of the ear li on the next adjacent section. The forward end of this sect1on is threaded as at 21. The. forward end of the flexible casing IO is'elx:

ternally threaded as at 22 and receives. there on a cap 23 in the form of a cup-shaped member having an openin 24' extending therethrcu hz "-The 'threade portion 21 'of the member 20 projectsthrough' this opening 24 an'd" receives thereon a threaded socket 25 formed in a shank 26 of the sludge cutting and CleaningYunit which is designated in its" 'entiret at 2 The'membe'r 20 is provided wit an integrally formed collar 28 centrally thereof. -This collar'is slightly larger in diameter tharithe internal diameter of the flexible casing '10 and one side of the "collar bears against the bottom of the cupshaped member 23 and is adapted upon rotation of the flexible'shaft 11 to rotate within the space between the bottom of the cupshaped member 23 and the end of the flexible casing 10. The shank 26 of the sludge cutting and sweepin device is provided with a pair of aligne apertures 29, while the threaded portion 21 of the section. 20 of the flexible shaft 11 is' provided with a transverse bore 30, and extending through the aligned'apertures 29 and the transverse bore 30 is a bolt 31 which prevents relative rotation between the end section 20 of the'flexible shaft ll and the sludge cutting and sweeping unit.

he sludge cutting and sweeping unit comprises a core 33 from which project radially extending bristle units 34 which collectively cooperate to form a sweeping unit 35. The bristle units 34 are preferably formed of wire or other wear resisting or abrading material. These units are arranged on the core 33 so that rotation of the sweeping unit inthe proper direction will sweep the sludge forwardly of the sewer pipe to be cleaned. 1 "Secured to the forward end of thecore 33'by a suitable nut and collar arrangement 36 is a sludge cutting device 37 in the form of a U-shaped member having parallel blades 38 sharpened at their ends and sides. The base of' the sludge cutting element is provided 'with an aperture 39 therethrough through which the core 33 extends, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. i

The end of the flexible shaft 11 remote from the sludge cutting and sweeping unitis connected inany suitable manner toa speed reducing dev1ce40 which in turn is the same due to friction occurring connected to the motor shaft 41 of an electric motor 42 driven from an suitable source of power through plu 43. actual operation the end 0 the flexible shaft 10 which carries the sludge cutting and cleaning unit is inserted into a sewer pipe 50. This sewer pipe usually extends tothe sewer main from an opening bl in'the floor of the basement of adwellin house. The sewer pipe 50 is provided wit a ri ht angle bend 52 just below I the surface oft e floor and from thence the sewer pipe extends either in a straight line or'witliwhatever curves are necemary to rthe r sewer main (n ot shown) of the city.

The flexible strip 17 being of flat form, rests against the edge 600i. the drain opening 51 andbecausgofthe binding engagement between the flexible casing 10 and the straps 19, the flexible casing. is relieved of the torsional stresses that would ordinarily be ap lied to tween this casing and the flexible shaft. The flexible-' shaft, because of the speed reducin device 40, rotates comparatively slowly an the flexible casing, to ther with its internal shaftand the sin ge cutting and cleaning device. is advanced slowly through the sewer pipe. The knifeblades 38 serve to loosen any solid material-in the sludge while the sweeping devicel carries the liquid and such'solid material as .may be contained therein forwardl The connectiomconsisting in the cups raped cap 23, the collar 28 and the socket 25 of the shanlr26 comprises a fluid sealagainst ingress of the'fiuid to the interior of the flexible casing. The motor 42 and speed reducingdevice mag be mounted upon a single standard w ich may be portable. The flexible casin 10 may be initially coiled upon the floor of he base- -ment and fed from the coil into the interior of the sewer pipe as desired.

After the cleaning operation has been performed the motor may be shut off and the flexible casing, together with its contained shaft may be withdrawn from the sewer pipe.

this-manner renairsmay be easilymade.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accom'panying drawing or described in this specification, as various changes in the details of construction and in the manufacture of the apparatus are contein lated. Furthermore, it is contem )lated t at the apparatus may be putto other uses than that of cleaning sewer pipes. -The apparatus is admirably adapted for use with interchangeable, internally operating abrading elements The sludge cutting and-cleaning device may which may be substituted for the sludge cut- I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a cleaning device of the character described, a cutting head, a flexible casing, a flexible shaft rotatably mounted within the casin and coextensive therewith, a cleaning e ement on one end of the shaft, means for rotating the shaft, and a flat straight guiding side of said collar bearing against the bottom of said cap and closing the aperture therethrou h, said shaft having a threaded end exten ng through the aperture in said cap member, and a cleaning element having a shank provided with a socket therein threadeldlyf't receivable on the threaded end of the s a V In testimony whereof I aflix my si ature.

JULIUS SILBER ER.

element secured to the casing exteriorly thereof and extending along the .casing parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof for guiding the casing through a pipe to be cleaned and for preventin rotation of the casing durin operation 0 the device.

2. fir a cleaning device of the character described, a flexible cylindrical casing, a flexible shaft rotatably mounted within the casing and coextensive therewith, a cleaning and cutting element on one end of the shaft, means for rotating the shaft and element, and a guiding strip secured to the flexible casing exteriorly thereof, the said guiding strip being a. substantially straight flat strip extending along the casing parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof, and being of suflicient transverse flexibility to assume the configuration of the casing as the casing passes through a pipe to be cleaned, the said strip guiding the casing through the pipe to be cleaned, and preventing rotation of the casing due to tortional stresses existing between the casing and the rotatable shaft contained therein.

3. In a sewer cleaning apparatus of the character described, a flexible cable adapted to be inserted within a pipe to be cleaned, a

flexible shaft rotatably mounted within the cable, a sup orting structure secured to one end of the shaft, a brush rotatably mounted on the supporting structure, rotatable knife blades also mounted on the supporting structure and operating in advance of the brush for penetrating and cutting through obstructing sledge and the like in the sewer, the said supporting structure, brush, and cutting blades rotating with the rotation of the shaft, and means for preventing twisting of the cable through tortional stresses set up between the said cable and shaft during operation of the latterQ 4. The combination with the end of a tubular cable having an externally threaded end and a shaft extending completely through said cable, of a collar on said shaft, one side of said collar engaging the end of said cable but rotatable thereon, a cap meniber in the form of a cup having an aperture therethrough, said cap member being internally threaded and threadedly receivable on the threaded end of said cable, the other its 

